


Shattered Memories

by Enraged_Erin



Series: Shattered Memories [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Lithos can't speak English but understands it, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Undertale Monsters on the Surface
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2019-09-24 11:49:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17100041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enraged_Erin/pseuds/Enraged_Erin
Summary: Lithos had finally crawled out from what she would describe as a living hell, only for her past to continue to haunt her in ways she couldn't have dreamt. Years of pain and suffering have rendered her incapable of co-existing with others in fear of being sent back to that hell. After reaching the surface, she thought that her pain would finally end - only for her to run into some monsters that happen to look like the one she fears.





	1. Reapers of the Mind

  
 Standing in front of the entrance to one of the most renowned monster bars, she shifted uncomfortably. It had been years since monsters were freed from the Underground and she was still coming to terms with it. Nobody in the Underground knew of her existence. She was created in a lab from the shell of a human soul and fused with 2 different monster souls. If anyone knew about her origin, she would be outcasted not only by the humans but by other monsters. Shaking her head of the dark thoughts that were rattling around in her skull, she looked back to the door of the bar.

 ' **Little steps. I can get past this.** '

 Reaching her gloved hand to the handle, she slowly pushed open the door, a small bell above the door jingling. Flinching slightly, she kept her head down and the poncho collar concealing half of her face. The sound of the patrons clamoring on with each other and enjoying their food and drinks seemed almost too loud in her wolf-like ears. Opting to ignore the sounds, she eyed the patrons under her phantasmal hair, her eyelights roaming along each monster and human that was seated throughout the bar until they fell upon a figure slumped over at the bar.

 Shaking off her unease, she approached the bar and sat down next to the slumped figure. Stealing a quick glance to the patron, she noted that they were skeletal in nature like her- he was wearing a blue hoodie with white fluff around the hood, black basketball shorts with a singular white stripe up each side, and a pair of pink slippers around socked feet. Her soul stuttered in her chest, her eyelights blinking out of existence at the sight of the skeletal monster next to her. Memories of her time in that lab sprung to the front of her mind, her hand clenching absently at her poncho and her other hand tugging slightly at her eyesocket. Apparently the monster beside her wasn't asleep as he roused up and rubbed at his eyesocket. Quickly snatching her hand from her own eyesocket, she stared at the tabletop of the bar and waited for the bartender to get to her and take her order.

 She wasn't normally one to indulge in alcoholic beverages, but that wasn't entirely the reason she was here. She was there to forget. To get over the past and cope with what had happened. When a fire elemental from behind the bar approached her, she noticed that he stilled. When his posture relaxed again, his gentle voice seemingly warmed her entire body. "I assume you would prefer a form of condiment like the others?"

 Cocking her head slightly, she glanced over to the skeleton she was sitting next to only to notice the ketchup bottle he had clutched into his boney hand. She was still learning what she liked and didn't like. All she ever had as a form of sustenance was a strange fluid that was injected straight into her soul. She didn't even know she could open her own teeth until a few months ago, so eating and drinking things were still new to her. But what really caught her interest was the fact that this bartender said the word 'others'. Were there other skeleton monsters like herself and the one she was sitting next to? And were condiments what they preferred to drink?

 "hey kiddo." spoke a deep baritone voice that jerked her from her thoughts, completely unaware that she had dug her fingers into her eyesocket again with all the questions that had flooded her thoughts. "you're gonna poke your eye out if you keep doing that."

 Gently pulling her fingers from her eyesocket, she looked directly at the skeleton sitting next to her. The perpetual grin that all skeletons tended to have was downcast and his eyelights practically screamed concern. Blinking her own eyelights back into existence, she eyed this skeleton as though he were a piece of art laid out before her. There was a strange sense of familiarity upon looking at his lazy grin. Flashes of that same grin- distorted by the liquid surrounded her body, cords hanging from her bones and the single tube that had a large butterfly needle stabbed into her soul-

 She jumped up from her seat at the bar, tumbling backwards as her soul hammered against her ribcage, the phantasmal fur around her ears and tail standing up on end as she shuffled to get away from the skeleton who was now approaching her. When his hand extended out to her, she grabbed at her ears and shrieked at the top of her non-existant lungs. "Nid! Nid ni ontzos! Ofaal hond! ( **No! No not again! Get away!** )" Moving to dash away from his reaching hands, she slammed into something solid and tumbled down to the floor. When she managed to glance up, her eyelights guttered out and her soul all but stopped. "F-Fos? ( **W-What?** )"

 The thing she had slammed into was another skeleton, his color pallete screaming angry and edgy. A red sweater under a black hoodie with tanned fluff on its hood, black shorts with a mustard yellow stripe up the sides and matching socks with red sneakers, the laces untied. But what had her frozen in place the most was the fangs, one of which replaced with a golden shell. His eyelights were a burning red, an angry expression knitted on his face. "what da fuck?! watch where yer goin'!" he yelled at her trembling form as she skittered backwards and into something. When she glanced behind her for a moment, she noticed the fuzzy pink slipper her hand had set on.

 Pushing herself forward for a moment before remembering the angry skeleton in front of her, she ended up ping-ponging herself between the two skeletons until she relented and curled up into a tiny ball in the floor, holding her head between her hands- one of them pulling at her socket again but more panicked. "Zu'u fen ni ofaal zek! Dreh ni kuz zey zek! ( **I won't go back! Don't take me back!** )" She screamed, shaking violently to where her bones were rattling audibly through the now silent bar. Her ragged breathing sounded too loud in her ears, her tail instinctively curling around her leg and her face burying itself into the collar of her woolen poncho. When she noticed that the 2 skeletons were whispering to each other she focused on listening in on their conversation.

 "it don't take a fuckin' genius to see that she's got ptsd." the red skeleton spoke, gesturing his thumb to her scared form. "don't know what the hell she's sayin' but it's clear that she don't like us."

 "she's probably from another underground. maybe the only survivor." the blue skeleton whispered back.

 "doubt it. she wouldn't be in a place like this if she was the only survivor. she'd be tryin' ta kill every human she saw if that were the case."

 "she's definitely _rattled_ by something." At the statement of the obvious, the blue and red skeletons turned to look at her and their eyelights disappeared. "shit." The red skeleton stomped over to her, bent down, and practically ripped her hand from her eyesocket- flakes of dust falling from her socket and onto her blue-black poncho. His hand gripped around her wrist tightly, her fingers twitching aggressively at the fact she had been grabbed- her fight or flight instinct kicking into fight mode.

 Grabbing his sweater collar with her free hand, she lunged forward and knocked him onto his back- pinning his ribcage to the wooden floor with her kneecap and her other hand wound its way around his neck. Glaring down at him, she wiggled her captive wrist in an attempt to pry it loose. When he didn't let go, she ground her knee into his ribcage and snarled at his face. "Waan hi waarth hin laas, sahqo olqein, hi fen vos bo do zey viilut daar kusil. ( **If you value your life, red skeleton, you will let go of me right this instant.** )"

 His eyelights blinked into existence, burning into her cherry red ones that glared down at him. "don't know what the fuck ya said, but i know the implications behind yer words." the red skeleton rumbled from under her. "ya want me to let ya go."

 "Ful hi los ni hinzaal ruz. ( **So you aren't stupid then.** )" She twisted her captive wrist slightly, completly unphased by the flakes of dust that fell from her socket and onto his sweater. She narrowed her eyes, glancing to her wrist and then back to him. It was a silent question.

 "nah. not unless ya stop pickin' at yer socket like ya were doin'."

 "Hah hin maarahmik. ( **Mind your business.** )" She wrenched her wrist free from his grip and stood up, turning her back to him with a scowl. "Nigein laan hi, balkus reymraf. ( **Nobody asked you, edgy asshole.** )" When she spotted the blue skeleton looking at her with a look of indifference, she flinched. Even though she had borderline assaulted another monster, he didn't seem to care. It was the same look that HE gave her as she was strapped onto those cold metal tables. The same look she was given when suspended in that vat of liquid and being pumped full of magic that her body struggled to expell. Shuddering audibly, she gripped at the front of her poncho as the memories of the pain she felt burned through her bones.

 Whining through her teeth, she stumbled out of the bar with a mumbled apology to the bartender and into the street. Her footing was unsteady as she started her way down the street towards a nearby park- the pain in her soul burning with every pulse. Gripping her poncho tighter, she growled under her breath.

 ' **Who were those guys? They clearly weren't HIM. They would have understood my every word.** ' She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, looking up to the night sky and breathing heavily. ' **But they looked so much like him. And they said something about different Undergrounds. Am I really the only survivor from what they said was my Underground?** ' She fell to her knees as all strength was seemingly sapped from her body at the thought of never seeing that monster again. ' **What... happened? Where are the other monsters like me? Where are their Power Gems?** ' Collapsing into the rough concrete and twitching her fingers slightly as her energy slowly drained, she looked up to the sky as best she could- her eyelights slowly fuzzing around the edges.

 ' **Am I... the only one?** '

 Growling loudly at herself, she pushed herself off the concrete of the sidewalk and pushed herself towards the park that was within her sight. Shuffling awkwardly as she entered the park, she manuevered her way to the nearest bench and sat down, staring down at her brown boots and scratching at her eyesocket again. It was a nervous tick that she had, but it was more of a way to bullet down the fact that she was still alive. If she felt pain, then everything was real. There were many times in her past where she didn't feel a thing as the technicians in the lab poked, prodded, and even cut into her bones to identify-

 Her eyelights guttered out. What did they want to identify? Was it if she was real? Comparing her DNA to other monsters? She drug one of her legs up to her chest, hugging it to her body and staring down at nothing in particular. She didn't understand back then what their reasonings were. She didn't want to know. But the words shared between those 2 replicas piqued her interest. Now she wanted to know why they hurt her so badly. What the tests were for.

 Flopping over onto her side and tucking her arm under her head, she lazily flicked her tail for a moment before settling on curling it around her leg again. She was just so tired. All she'd been doing since escaping the lab was run. She didn't even really remember anything other than running towards the first sign of light. Her eyesockets slowly started to close as she remembered how warm that light was.

 That light made her feel safe.


	2. Unexpected Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Falling asleep on a park bench wasn't the smartest thing she has done, but it appears that someone has decided to take it upon themselves to help her out. Perhaps she can finally start to heal.

  
 Something felt off. The warm light she usually dreamt of was missing and it felt like she was being smothered by energy. The last time she had felt something like that was-

 Leaping up from her position, she was surprised to see, or rather bump, into someone who was leaned over her. Rubbing the sore spot on her skull from smashing her head into whoever was hovering over her and for whatever reason. Gritting her teeth painfully, she noticed that she was not on the park bench she had fallen asleep on. Her eyelights snapping upwards, she sighted a tall skeleton monster with a bright reddish orange scarf around his neck. "OH. YOU'RE AWAKE! DID I STARTLE YOU, MISS?" he spoke to her with such concern lacing his scratchy and nasally voice. She eyed him cautiously before slumping her shoulders. When she didn't feel the weight of her favorite poncho on her shoulders she scrambled to feel around for it nearby, thinking that maybe the button had popped loose.

 Looking down at her body she noticed that she was stripped down to a black tank top- her Power Gem just barely poking out from behind the collar, blue sports shorts, and a pair of white socks. Her eyelights snapped up to the tall skeleton with a slight grimace on her face. "Kolos dii riived? ( **Where are my clothes?** )" she asked with a small lining of anger to her voice.

 "I'M AFRAID I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU."

 "Riived! ( **Clothes!** )" she barked out slightly while pulling at the fabric of the tank top, hoping he would understand what she was trying to say. The tall skeleton flinched a little at her sudden outburst before shaking his head. Assuming that he couldn't figure out what she was saying due to her inability to speak regular english, she stared forward for a moment, thinking. Snapping her fingers as an idea hit her, she made a motion in the air of writing something down. "Deykraan. ( **Paper.** )"

 "DO YOU... WANT A PIECE OF PAPER?"

 "Geh! Geh! Deykraan! ( **Yes! Yes! Paper!** )" She nodded excitedly in that he managed to catch on to what she was saying. The tall skeleton nodded just as excitedly as her and bounded out of the room she was in. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she stared down at the carpeted floor and frowned. She didn't know who this monster was or why he took her in. Maybe he was going to hurt her like the other- No. Shaking her head violently, her ears flopped down as she thought deeply. The skeleton who brought her here was trying to help. He wasn't showing any false intentions.

 Said skeleton she was thinking of rushed back into the room with a notebook and a pencil. "HERE YOU GO, MISS!" he chirped happily as she took the notebook and began writing. She turned the notebook back around to him. 'Where are my clothes?' "OH! YOUR CLOTHES ARE IN THE WASH RIGHT NOW. THEY WERE SO DUSTY AND GRIMEY!" Flinching slightly at the reminder that her clothes were slightly worn down and hadn't been washed since she put them on, she nodded her head in understanding to his reasoning for taking her clothes. 'Were you the one who found me?' "ACTUALLY, IT WAS MY BROTHER WHO FOUND YOU. HE SAID YOU WERE JUST LAYING THERE ON A PARKBENCH."

 She cocked her head to one side, her tail thumping slightly against the bed as she gently wagged it. She twitched her ear towards the door as the sound of muffled footsteps drew closer to her and the other skeleton's position. Turning to face the door, her eyelights blinked out at the sight of the same blue skeleton from the bar last night. "hey paps. looks like she's up." he greeted as he leaned against the doorway. "gave us quite a scare there, lady."

 "Los hi-? ( **Are you-?** )" she started before snapping her jaw shut and shaking her head. Hastily writing her question on the notebook, she tossed it towards the blue skeleton.

 "'are you him?' him who, kid? you're kinda losing me here." He cautiously stepped into the room to hand her back the notebook. Grabbing the pencil and scrawling down her next question she wasted no time in turning the notebook back to him. "'forget i said anything. you clearly aren't if you don't know what i meant.' kind of a stretch there. you got your question down in writing. can't ignore that."

 Narrowing her eyes slightly, she crossed her arms and thumped his leg with her tail. He glanced down at the furry appendage and smiled at the implication of the small hit to his leg. "SHE SEEMS TO BE A BIT CONFUSED, SANS." the tall skeleton spoke. Glancing up to him, she looked at the tall one first then to the blue skeleton.

 "Sans?" she spoke clearly and with a questioning expression on her face.

 "well, you ran out before we got your name. name's sans. sans the skeleton." Replied the blue skeleton with a wink. She shuffled a bit away from him and scratched idly at her arms. "so why did you run away?"

 "Hi. ( **You.** )" she mumbled under her breath, ducking her head slightly and wishing she had her favorite poncho to hide her face right now.

 "yes. hi."

 "Nid! HI! ( **No! YOU!** )" She replied while poking him square in the chest. "Zu'u ru hond nol HI dahik hi... ( **I ran away from YOU because you...** )" She trailed off mid-shout and sniffed slightly at him. His scent was different. The monster she remembered smelled strongly of coffee grounds and medical equipment. This one's scent was more of ketchup and holly trees with a slight crisp smell similar to fresh snow.

 "uhh... kid? why are you sniffing me?" Sans asked her. Heaving a sigh, she grabbed the notebook again and handed it back to him. "'scent is different.'? i don't understand."

 "Hi dreh ni sahlon rinis. ( **You don't smell the same.** )"

 "okay okay. i get it. i smell different. but different from what?" She turned to face away from him, refusing to answer any more of his questions. She didn't want to think about it. It was bad enough that the monster sitting next to her looked like a carbon copy of him. "so you won't say. that's fine. i feel like i've _sniffed out_ the root of your problem." Her ears flopped back at the immediate recognition of the pun.

 "SANS! DON'T PESTER OUR GUEST WITH YOUR UNBEARABLE PUNS!" screeched the tall skeleton, her ears flopping even further back in an attempt to protect her ears from the shout. Noticing her reaction, the skeleton fiddled with the end of his scarf and shifted uneasily in front of her. "SORRY ABOUT THAT, MISS."

 Shaking her head and wagging her tail, she hoped that he would get the message that it was okay and no harm was done. Possibly. Her ears were ringing slightly. Heaving a sigh of relief, he let go of his scarf and smiled widely at her. "Faan? ( **Name?** )" she inquired while pointing to him. Cocking his head slightly with a quiet 'Nyeh' sound, her shoulders slumped. She half-figured that he wouldn't put that one together since there was no form of hand gesture to indicate she meant to say 'Name' instead of her language.

 "i think she wants to know your name, bro." Sans thankfully supplied to his brother.

 "Geh! ( **Yes!** )" She nodded to him and looked back at the tall skeleton. "Faan. ( **Name.** )"

 "I'M GLAD YOU ASKED, TINY DOG-SKELETON! MY NAME IS THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" he beamed brightly with a dramatic pose, his scarf billowing in an invisble wind.

 "Faal Lot Papyrus... Saraan. Drey hi saag dok-olqein? ( **The Great Papyrus... Wait. Did you say dog-skeleton?** )" The nickname had just caught up with her, her ears angled towards the back and her tail just sitting there on the bed.

 "heheh. he _doggone_ did, kiddo." Sans chuckled. Her head whipped over to face him with wide eyelights, her grin stretched out into a thin line and her tail and ears perking straight up at the sound of that dog-related pun. "and nah. i didn't understand what you said. just guessed that you noticed that he called you a dog-skeleton."

 "ARE YOU... NOT A DOG-SKELETON?" Papyrus inquired. She grabbed the notebook again, deciding to give a brief explanation by paper rather than have them try to decipher her words. 'I don't know what I am exactly. I do know that I'm not a dog though. Skeleton part is apparent. Not sure what the other half is.' "YOU DON'T KNOW? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR PARENTS ARE?"

 Cocking her head to the side, her ears tucked down against her skull and her tail curling around her hip slightly, she eyed him with curious eyelights. "Lafaan? ( **Parents?** )" The crestfallen look on their faces didn't go unnoticed. Looking down at her feet that just barely hung above the bed, she tilted her head to the side. She never thought about it. Who would her parents be? She had been told time and time again that 'experiments don't have families' and that she was just a means to an end. It was thanks to HIM that she had any knowledge about who she was- always taunting her that her soul would be used against the Barrier once they found the right formula. "Ah."

 "what is it? do you remember something?" Sans asked her.

 "Hi fun zey hin faan. Nuz Zu'u drey ni fun hi dii. ( **You told me your names. But I didn't tell you mine.** )" She looked at him, hoping he understood what she was trying to say. He nodded to her, a silent understanding probably from the earlier use of the word that meant 'Name'. "Dii faan los... Lithos. ( **My name is... Lithos.** )"

 "lithos? your name is lithos?" She nodded back to him. She had to give this skeleton some credit- he managed to translate what she had said just from hearing one word. "suits you. has that air of mystery around it."

 "Digoliik... ( **Mystery...** )" She stared at the floor- or rather through it since she wasn't looking at anything in particular. He held a point. She was rather mysterious, even to herself. All she knew about herself was that her soul was the shell of a fallen human's soul that had lost all of its magic. Apparently, they had managed to repurpose her soul by imbuing it with monster magic and had created her from literally nothing. It was as he had said: to create a new weapon you need a mold. The soul of the human that fell down was the mold and the monster magic was the molten metal that gave it form into something new.

 "hey." Sans's voice snapped her from her thoughts, his hand slowly reaching for her. Flinching back slightly, she noticed that she was digging into her eyesocket again. Slowly pulling her hand away from her socket, she glanced up at the monster who she thought was the one who hurt her. But the smell was wrong. He doesn't smell like old coffee. She had to remember that. "you alright there?"

 "Geh... ( **Yes...** )" she nodded somewhat solemnly.

 "I KNOW WHAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER, MISS LITHOS! SOME OF MY FAMOUS 'FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI' OUGHT TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus cackled as he rushed out of the room, leaving her to stare at the open door and back at Sans.

 "Ahhh...?" She vocalized while pointing towards the direction that Papyrus's voice was coming from and back to where he stood. The look on her face could only be described as pure confusion. "Fahdonmaar Surilim? ( **Friendship Noodles?** )"

 "yup. hope you have the stomach for it, kiddo." he replied with a smile, pushing himself off of the bed and turning to her with a hand extended out to her. "c'mon, buddy. you can sit on the couch while he cooks. you don't want to stay cooped up in here, do you?"

 Grabbing his offered hand, she was pulled out of the bed and stood on unsteady feet. She must've been pretty close to falling down if her motor skills were affected. Either that or she just fell asleep on the bench in a weird position before he found her. Moving to take a singular step, she noticed that her leg was actually asleep- odd given that she was more skeletal in nature than her other counterpart DNA. Stumbling forward, Sans quickly grabbed onto her with a slight chuckle under his breath. "Kogaan. ( **Thanks.** )"

 "don't worry about it, kid. let's get you downstairs, yeah?"

 After careful maneuvering to get her situated and slowly walking forward, she and Sans slowly made their way out of the room and into a hallway. Her eyes roamed the area, noting that there were several more doors further down the hall and a staircase leading to a lower level of the house when she looked in the other direction. When they reached the steps, she hesitated for a moment. The tightened grip on her shirt indicated to her that he would not let her fall. Slowly moving down the steps, she noted another scent- which she could assume was the food Papyrus was cooking.

 She was wrong. The scent belonged to another skeleton, namely the red skeleton from last night that had grabbed her wrist. Her eyelights dilated slightly as she approached the couch where the red skeleton was sitting. The moment she crossed in front of him, she felt a chill run down her spine, the fur on her tail standing up on end. Sans guided her to the other side of the couch, settling her down and moving towards the kitchen. This was not one of the most ideal situations for her to be in. The red skeleton was not the most friendly monster she had met, but if what she was smelling was anything to go by-

 She stole a glance towards him, his grin was hitched higher than it was a moment ago and his red eyelights bore into her cherry red ones. Flinching back slightly and for just a moment, she steeled her resolve and inched slightly closer to him. Sniffing at the air around him silently, she growled under her breath. The food that was being prepared in the other room overpowered the scent coming from this skeleton and it was muting her findings. Shuffling closer, she was caught off guard when a boney hand latched onto her shoulder and drug her against his ribcage.

 Now she could smell his scent, and to say she was happy with it was quite the understatement. It wasn't the same scent as HIM, but it was still a smell she wouldn't want stuck in her nose. As opposed to Sans's scent, this skeleton's scent smelled heavily of mustard and what she could compare to a bonfire with a muted scent of something else. Her nose scrunched up slightly in a feeble attempt to will the scent out of her nose holes. "what's the matter? do i stink or somethin'?" rumbled the skeleton who was holding her to his chest.

 "Hi sahlon med aanwo komaan wah 'avokyahnol' ahst yahnol tir. ( **You smell like someone decided to 'overcook' at a cook out.** )" she bluntly replied as she struggled to pull her face from his chest.

 "i ain't hearin' a yes or a no out of that."

 "Auggghhhh-! GEH! GEH, HI POOK! ( **YES! YES, YOU STINK!** )" Her struggling increased tenfold as she tried to wiggle out from his hold on her. When he finally relented and let her go, she rubbed vigorously at her nose and shivered slightly. "Rah nau zirokey. Wo dreh tol? ( **Christ on a bike. Who does that?** )" she grumbled more to herself than to him. The sound of him chuckling stole her attention from rubbing at her nose. "Fos los nep ahst? ( **What are you laughing at?** )"

 "i'm laughing at you, sweetheart."

 "Pruzah krotz zemqulek vok dii kopraan tinvok, hi sahqo reym. Fos dreh hi laan? Hunzah? ( **Good job on picking up my body language, you red ass. What do you want? A trophy?** )" The sound of laughter coming from the kitchen doorway snagged her attention, her ears flipping slightly until one fell over in a sign of confusion. When she sighted Sans standing there, barely restraining his laughter, her tail instinctively wagged.

 "looks like someone's happy to see ya." commented the red skeleton as he pointed to her wagging tail. She noticed it a moment later, her tail stilling and her ears returning to their slightly drooped position. It made sense that her tail would wag. Sans, who she at first thought was him, proved to her that she could trust him to some extent. She may not understand why he decided to help her, but it was a breath of fresh air to her compared to her previous engagements with a skeleton with that grin. Speaking of-

 She glanced over to the red skeleton and scooted a bit further way. Even though his scent wasn't that concoction smell of old coffee and medical equipment, it was still an unpleasant smell. She snuffed audibly at his direction and continued scooting away from him until she reached the end of the couch. "guess she doesn't like the way you smell, red." Sans huffed out with a smirk.

 "like you smell any better than me." he shot back.

 "Sah...qo...? Hin faan los Sahqo? ( **Red? Your name is Red?** )" She asked as she turned her head to look directly at him.

 "nah. not 'sahqo'. red. unless 'sahqo' means 'red' in your language. but you seem to be able to punctuate nouns perfectly fine." Sans responded to her question directed at Red.

 "R-Red?" she managed to squeak out, the word feeling foreign on her tongue. She frowned slightly. It didn't feel right on her tongue at all. Shaking her head slightly, she looked back over to Sans. "Kip? ( **Food?** )" She was trying her best to convey to them what she was asking, but it was difficult given that anyone who could have possibly understood her was probably long since dead.

 "kip? the fuck is that supposed ta mean?" Red barked from across the couch.

 Slapping a hand over her face, she sighed heavily into her hand. This whole not being able to speak english yet being able to understand it was really starting to get on her nerves. Ironic given the living hell she had been through. She slipped her hand from her face and began mimicking a knife and fork motion. "Kip. ( **Food.** )"

 "food? are you asking is the food ready?" Sans asked from the doorway. She was about to nod, but quickly shook her head instead. "so, what are you asking then?" She huffed a bit, then made a move to grab the small notebook that Sans had tossed onto the coffee table in front of the couch. Leaning forward to grab it, she lost her balance and instead faceplanted into the carpet. "ah shit!" Completely unphased by having slammed her face into a carpet, she wrote down her question and slid the notebook to him as he was rushing to her position. Bending down and picking up the notebook, he watched as she slowly sat up and scratched at the back of her head. "'how is the food coming along? i think i smell it burning.' ahh. that explains why you shook your head no. i don't smell it burning yet."

 "Tul? ( **Yet?** )" One of her brows raised higher than the other at that word. Who says the food isn't burning YET? Was it a normal occurance when Papyrus cooks? Just then she noticed that Sans was sniffing a bit at the air himself and waving some smoke that had wafted its way into the room away with the notebook.

 "there it is."

 "damn kid, ya got quite a sniffer on ya. i bet i smell like shit based on how you reacted earlier." Red commented from beside her on the couch. Grabbing at the notebook Sans was using to wave away the smoke, she wrote down her next message. Passing the book to Red, she shifted slightly until she was in a more comfortable position on the floor. The look on his face was a strange mixture of emotions. "i smell like what?"

 "Grutsur. Bex-yol. Ahrk atruk voz. ( **Mustard. Bonfire. And something else.** )" She listed each one off on her fingers. Red tossed the notebook over to Sans, shaking his head at her with a slightly annoyed look on his face and a grin that rivaled against that look.

 "apparently you smell like someone who overcooked at a barbeque. and i think she listed off the exact scent a second ago." Sans simplified, handing her the notebook. "write it down for us, please." She quickly wrote down what she had just said and handed it back to him. "ah. yeah that would make sense. wow. what a vague description." He passed the book back to Red.

 "you can smell that? fuckin' hell, kid. must fuckin' suck walkin' near a bathroom. bet you could smell all kinda shit." Red teased while poking at her cheek.

 "Ven wah vensekos baarkei, qethklov. ( **Way to state the obvious, bonehead.** )" She shook her head with a huff as she pulled herself back up to the couch. When she situated herself comfortably on the couch, she pointed towards the kitchen with a concerned look.

 "don't worry, i'll take care of it. you just focus on getting better." Sans said with a wink as he disappeared in the direction of the kitchen once again.

 She wasn't sure how to feel about these skeletons. Papyrus was nice and she couldn't sense any ill-intent towards her well-being. If anything, he was almost like a mother hen the way he was concerned about her and tried so hard to help her communicate to them. When it comes to Sans, she's a bit more reserved towards the blue skeleton. His face was almost an exact copy of HIM, but it was his scent that was off. She couldn't really sense anything directed towards her when near him, but it was almost like his soul was shut away from her. As for Red-

 Her eyelights blinked out of existence as she struggled to think.

 Red looked identical to Sans in some ways, but it was his aggressive attitude that reminded her more of him. The way he would dote on her for her lack of cooperation. The promises of more pain if she struggled. The complete disregard for- The light. The light would keep her safe. Look for that light. She just needed to remember to keep reaching for that light. He won't find her there. He won't-

 "hey!" Red practically screamed at her face, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. "snap out of it, will ya? look in my eyes." Her eyelights slowly fizzled back into existence as she stared at the rather edgy skeleton. "fuck, kid. what the hell happened to ya? i haven't seen someone this fucked up since the underground."

 "Nebengol. ( **Underground.** )" she whispered under her breath, her eyelights slowly sharpening back to their original brightness. "Kun. ( **Light.** )" Her eyelights sharpened immediately as she looked directly at the light that was almost blinding her. "Sil. ( **Soul.** )" She was looking at his soul somehow- through his eyes. Apparently the old saying is true: the eyes are the windows to the soul. If that's the case-

 Why can nobody see her soul for what it is?


	3. Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite her shortcomings, Lithos is slowly poking her head out from her metaphorical shell and giving her companions a chance. She may not understand their reasoning for helping her, but one thing is clear: they don't want to hurt her.

  
 To say that she was caught in a mouse trap was an apt metaphor. Sans and Papyrus came out of the kitchen with a plate of the spaghetti she could smell burning earlier. Now she was just sitting there, staring at the food. She wasn't sure if she could eat the food. A rational part of her brain was saying not to while another part of her brain was more confused on how to eat it. Apparently she was making a face because she noticed Sans kneel down next to her. "you alright? you're looking at your food like it killed your pet." he joked lightly.

 She continued to stare at the noodles. The downside of having only been fed through an IV in her soul was that she never had the luxury of learning the different tastes of food until a few months ago. Being held captive in a lab would do that. It made her wonder though; what did the human her soul came from like to eat? Did they like sweet things? Or spicy foods? Not only that, what did the monsters her magic came from like to eat? Since her soul was made only from a shell and a mixture of magic from 2 different monsters, it seemed like a lot of her cognitive functions were muted or forcefully ripped from her. Hence her inability to speak english.

 "Ah..." she half-whined as she eyed the spaghetti almost solemnly. She grabbed the notebook and wrote down exactly what she wanted to say, speaking her thoughts aloud. "Zu'u dreh ni mindok fos kip Zu'u med. Zu'u nunon mindos Zu'u vust naak prii sed tik vod. ( **I don't know what foods I like. I just learned I could eat almost three months ago.** )"

 When Sans read the notebook, she saw his eyelights vanish from his sockets and passed the notebook over to Red. He did the same thing. "how the hell-? kid, please tell me yer kiddin'." Red grimaced as he handed the notebook back to her.

 "Zu'u hind Zu'u vust saag Zu'u lost. Zu'u dreh ni orin mindok fos daar fen ken med. Zu'u los prii faas wah siiv tir. ( **I wish I could say I was. I don't even know what this will taste like. I'm almost afraid to find out.** )" She frowned at the mere admission that she was incapable of knowing what tastes were and if she liked them or not.

 "but yer familiar with the smell of mustard?"

 Sighing darkly at him, she shut her eyesockets and rubbed at her 'eyelid' where she had been chipping at her socket. "Zu'u saag Zu'u dreh ni mindok KEN. Ni sahlon, hi hinzaal reymvoluk. ( **I said I don't know TASTES. Not smells, you ignorant asswipe.** )" She swatted the notebook on his leg, returning to staring at the plate. "Tul... ( **Still...** )"

 "how did you manage to survive for three months without eating anything? based on your hp, you should have fallen down by now." Sans pointed out, breaking the ice around them and leaving a thick cloud of regret. She should have fallen down. She was aware of how HP was an acronym for HOPE. Her only hope was the light. She'd been searching for that light for the longest time since the incident at the lab which allowed her to escape. But she wasn't quite ready to tell them about that. She wasn't even sure if she trusted them with her baggage. But she still had to tell them something.

 "Zu'u lost fed lu zeim dii sil. ( **I was fed magic through my soul.** )" There. Vague, but descript enough for them to get their answer. She heard a whine coming from her right, her ears flipping downwards and looking up at the source. Papyrus looked like he was about to cry.

 "YOU POOR SOUL! YOU MISSED OUT ON SO MANY CULINARY TASTES! I CAN'T IMAGINE WHAT THAT MUST BE LIKE!" he cried as he suddenly bent down and scooped her up into a bone-crushing hug. She went rigid slightly at first, but when she felt the warm magic of his soul pulsing she closed her eyes and involuntarily began wagging her tail slowly. Papyrus cared for her. She could sense it clear as day. The warm amber light of his soul was so bright. So calming. Even his scent was calming. It was like a mixture of tomatoes and spices with a hint of something sweet. "FEAR NOT MISS LITHOS, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO EAT MANY DIFFERENT FOODS NOW THAT YOU'RE HERE!"

 Her tail wagged slightly faster at his proclamation. She wasn't really starved in the food sense, but in other ways. The way he had promised her safety and a chance at something in life that was taken for granted by many others warmed her soul, the Power Gem embedded into her ribcage glowing brightly. "hey lithos. i think your soul is showing." Sans commented from behind her.

 Glancing down at her Power Gem, she cocked her head to the side. "Hi seik dii Suleyk Sogaal? ( **You mean my Power Gem?** )"

 "wait. i don't think that's her soul. she seems to know the basics of souls and she ain't blushin' so it isn't that." Red spoke up, shuffling on the couch until he was just next to her. "lemme look at ya." She huddled a bit deeper into Papyrus, hiding her Power Gem from him. The last time someone went near the stone that was fused to her bones, they had managed to do something to it and hurt her greatly. She remembers waking up 2 weeks later to them discussing the nature of her Power Gem. Red seemed to have caught onto her refusal to show the stone and sighed. "alright. i won't pressure ya. but you will tell us about it sooner or later."

 "Fiit zey. ( **Bite me.** )" she growled at him, whacking his leg with her tail and snuggling closer to Papyrus and glaring at Red. "Nigein fen haalvut dii gol. Hi hon zey? ( **Nobody will touch my stone. You hear me?** )"

 "loud 'n clear." Red responded, leaning back into the cushions and throwing one leg over the other. "geez. for someone who's bein' all buddy-buddy with papyrus ya sure got an attitude."

 "here, kiddo. have a bite. i'm sure you'll love it." Sans broke the tension, bringing a fork completely covered in spaghetti towards her face. Removing her face from Papyrus's scarf, she glanced at the food and then back up to him. "it's alright." Glancing back and forth between the fork hovering in front of her face and Sans, her doubts were melted away when he smiled and nodded at her. Opening her teeth for him, he fed her the small bite of the noodles. The taste was... unique. It held a familiar taste to the scent that Papyrus held- the tomato and spice. There was a slight burnt taste to it, but it was muted by the spices quite well. Her perpetual grin rose slightly. "told you that you'd love it."

 She couldn't really say if she loved it or not, but the taste was rather pleasant compared to some of the things she had managed to taste before. Turning around fully to face Sans as he swirled the fork in more of the noodles, she wagged her tail happily. She went to reach for the fork when he casually pulled it away from her and snuck the next bite into her mouth when she wasn't paying attention. Holding the noodles in her mouth, she stared at him with the most confused look she could have ever mustered with a mouthful of food. Swallowing the bite, she raised one of her brows at him in the silent question of 'Really?' considering the fact that she was a grown monster and could feed herself.

 "cute." Red remarked from just behind her on the couch. She looked at him from the corner of her eyesockets. A thought crossed her mind while Sans kept shoveling fork after fork into her mouth upon looking at Red. She couldn't see an obvious bulge on his chest where his Power Gem should be. She turned her head away from the fork Sans offered her, staring more intently at Red's chest. She figured that maybe it was due to the thickness of his sweater. Crawling over to his seated position on the couch, she climbed up on uneasily limbs and sat down on top of him. "what? do i got somethin' on my face?"

 Planting her hand on his chest, she poked and prodded around his sternum. A frown drew on her face when she felt only bone and the phantom flesh that skeletons tended to make unconsciously under clothing. Pressing just a bit harder on his sternum, she growled under her breath. Where was his stone? He had told her that her very soul was sheltered in those stones and that all it took was the right tools to shape them into something better. Was it a lie?

 "what are you looking for?" Sans asked as he stood up to pick up her plate from the coffee table. She turned to face him, taking her hand off of Red's chest and bringing it to her Power Gem. His eyelights fell onto the small portion of stone that poked out from the top of the tank top she was wearing. "are you looking for that thing?" She nodded to him. "i don't know what you know kid, but we don't have whatever that thing is on your chest. you came from a different underground than us."

 "D-DifFereNt?" she squawked out, surprising herself and loosely wrapping a hand around her throat.

 "huh. what do ya know? looks like yer spaghetti did wonders for her vocabulary." Red looked just as shocked as her, gently placing his hand under her chin and raising her head up to look into her eyelights. "doesn't seem to be doin' much to her magic though. it's still dull." He let go of her chin and sat back. "yeah. ya came from a different underground than me, sans, and his brother over there. i don't think i've ever seen a monster with one of those things before."

 "TheY aRen'T- Haghk!" She choked, trying to speak again in english.

 "don't strain yerself. just use yer notebook." Sighing in slight defeat, she reached for the notebook and began writing. When she finished, she turned the book to Red so he could read it. "'they aren't usually out in the open. it's like lookin' at someone's-'" He burst out laughing, nearly shaking her off of his lap. She grabbed at his hoodie and puffed up her face in annoyance, her ears flopped backwards and her tail standing straight up and just as puffed out. "fuck, kid! ya serious right now?!" The look on her face was answer enough. "so basically yer flashin' us some cleavage, yeah?"

 "GEEEEAAAAGHHH!" She screeched at him, writing aggressively in the notebook and shoving it in his face. "Inhon... ( **Pervert...** )"

 "'not by choice.' yeah, from what papyrus there told me, yer clothes were all dusty and covered in grime. and i thought i was lazy." She glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest and hiding the stone from his gaze. "speakin' of that, what's with that weird cape? you were hidin' yer face in it last night."

 "I THINK IT'S LIKE MY SCARF AND YOU AND MY BROTHER'S HOODIES." Papyrus spoke up from his spot on the floor where she was sitting. "I THINK IT'S HER FAVORITE ARTICLE OF CLOTHING."

 "huh. come ta think of it, i think my hoodie is the only thing i actually care about keepin' intact." He looked back at her, her face telling him that she was lost in thought again. She had found that poncho before her escape. She felt drawn to it if anything. Hiding her face behind the collar was more of a defensive thing. She was afraid that if anyone saw her face they would start asking questions. When she first put it on, it felt like she was smothered in a comfortable blanket that was knitted by someone who cared about her. It gave her more of a reason to press onwards and follow that warm light.

 Sliding off of Red's lap and onto her feet, she wobbled slightly as she took shaky steps towards a nearby window. It was quite possible that she was really close to falling down based on the fact that she was having problems walking. Perhaps she did it partially to herself when she met Sans and Red at the bar. She wasn't exactly thinking rationally at the time. Hell, she even attacked Red when he grabbed her wrist. She was never that prone to violence- despite her wanting to do nothing more than to dust the monster who had kept her captive. Gripping the notebook tightly, she looked out the window.

 "Hi mindok... nii kuz silsemiin wah emtiin atruk riid, med uniid riil wah un reyliik. ( **You know... it takes perspective to realize something important, like the term monster versus our race.** )" she started rather sadly, placing her hand on the window and looking at the reflection of herself that blended perfectly with the picturesque front lawn outside. She could see the crack around the lower part of her eyesocket where she had been picking for so long. Yet in her eyes, she could see something else. "Jul faan mii riil fah pogaan eruvos. Nuz wah zey, riil los maankir naal niist dren. Ni eylok. ( **Humans called us monsters for many years. But to me, a monster is determined by their actions. Not species.** )" She turned to face the three skeletons now looking at her with a mixture of confusion and sympathy. "Zu'u grind fos gein fund faan riil. ( **I met what one would call a monster.** )"

 "kid-" Sans started when she grabbed the pencil and began writing again.

 "Zu'u los krosis fah pah ahkon Zu'u lost nalkun drun hi. Nuz Zu'u vis ni fey. **(I'm sorry for all the trouble I have already caused you. But I can't stay.** )" She pushed the notebook into his hands, shambling by him and to a far corner of the room. "Krosis. ( **Sorry.** )" She slid down the wall until she was curled up into a tiny ball, wrapping her arms around her knees and planting her face on her legs. She needed them to tell her where her clothing was. She had to leave before they would get hurt by her presence. If he was still alive and looking for her, he would hurt them. She figured that it would be for the best that she leaves now.

 "ya got nothin' to be sorry for!" Red snapped. Her eyelights fizzled out and she stared directly at him. "don't give me that look! whatever you've been through was enough to damn near kill ya! it's a fuckin' miracle that yer still alive an' kickin'!"

 "Zu'u fun hi ahk pogaas. ( **I told you too much.** )" She looked over to Papyrus. "Riived. ( **Clothes.** )" Nodding slowly, Papyrus moved to leave the room when Sans put his hand on his brother's arm.

 "sorry kid, but you're in no condition to be leaving here." Her eyelights still missing, she growled loudly at him. "i get that you don't want us to keep you here, but if the person who hurt you is still alive..." His eyelights blinked out as he locked into a staring contest with her. " **he won't stop.** " Her eyesockets widened, but her eyelights didn't return. So he HAD connected the dots. He was referring to her earlier question- when she asked if he was HIM. "it's pretty clear that you're starved of something besides food. you almost have the personality of a child."

 She growled louder at the implication. She was FAR from a child. She was- Her eyelights snapped into a fuzzy focus. How old was she? How long was she in that lab? No. Does she even have an age to base herself from? So many questions flooded her mind at once. Sans said that she had the personality of a child. He must have meant her misunderstanding and questioning to certain things they had asked her. Perhaps it was related to their reactions to her lack of familial knowledge and the pleasantries of food being withheld from her for so long.

 Growling harder and louder, she stood up from her corner and stepped closer to him. "Ahrk nunon FOS los Zu'u gebahlok do?! ( **And just WHAT am I starved of?!** )" her voice vibrated around them, her emotions starting to run wild. It was a challenge. If he really understood her position, then her words would cut through to his soul and he would HEAR her.

 "you're starved of compassion." Sans answered plainly, sticking his hands into his hoodie pockets as his eyelights blinked back into existence. "you're trying to cling to the only thing that you know. survival."

 "Ahrk vir fund hi mindok tol? ( **And how would you know that?** )"

 "that's a conversation for another time, kid. besides... you need the help more than i do."

 It seemed that her intent worked. Sans understood her. Word for word. While she was relieved that she had managed to pass on her dialect to him, it also meant that she had imparted a great deal of trust onto him. But having projected her intent a bit too harshly, she could feel the rhythmic beating of her soul in her skull. She had used too much magic while aggravated and now she was paying the price for it in the form of a migraine. She had foisted her past traumas onto a complete stranger. Even though he didn't know the full story it was clear that he had an idea of what happened. It doesn't take a therapist to see that she has severe mental and emotional trauma. And if she remembered correctly, Sans and Red were talking about how obvious it was that she was unstable.

 Would these monsters be able to help pull her back into a stable mindset?

 Dropping her gaze to the floor, she scratched at her cheek close to her eyesocket. "Flogah. Nuz Zu'u fen ni saag naan zos wey Zu'u los sulvekaal voth. ( **Fine. But I won't say any more than I am comfortable with.** )"

 Sans nodded. "just take your time. nobody is rushing you." Nodding back to him, she shifted nervously in place. "on a side note though... how'd you like the spaghetti?"

 Well... that was an interesting question.


	4. Scented

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One can only go by smells for so long without wondering how it was made. Perhaps Lithos could try to overcome her insecurities and inadequacies.

  
 She stared at him for what felt like hours trying to wrack her brain for an answer. The spaghetti tasted good, but she had nothing to base her preferences on. She wasn't even sure if her soul would fully absorb the healing magic that was in the food. "don't sweat it, kid. you don't have to answer." Sans quickly dismissed after noting her obvious dilemma. He gently set his hand on her shoulder, giving her a playful jostle. "gotta say though, it's kinda interesting hearing your voice and understanding your words. what language is that anyways?"

 She turned her head to the side slightly. She didn't really know. As far back as she could remember, this was the language her tongue found itself speaking. The only one who ever understood her was him. It was when she trusted him and hoped that he would see that she was hurting and she was conscious. That she was a living being. When she turned and looked back at Sans she spoke. "Zu'u honestly dreh ni mindok. Daar los nunon fos koros wah bo tir. ( **I honestly don't know. This is just what happens to come out.** )"

 The front door slammed open, causing her to jump almost violently into the air and stumbling forward into Sans, her fingers digging into his arms as she struggled to keep herself upright. She felt his arms gently wrap around her arms and hold her up, confirming that he would not let her fall and was almost just as surprised at her reaction. When she peeked out from over his sleeve, she spotted a much darker and sharper version of Papyrus standing in the doorway. Her eyelights shrinking down to almost pinpricks, she shuffled awkwardly to the side and behind Sans. "hey boss." Red greeted the Papyrus look-alike from the couch.

 "RED. WHO IS THIS WENCH?" responded the skeleton as he regarded her directly. Flopping her ears towards the back, she growled and narrowed her eyes at him.

 "Sahvol zey? Fos drey hi nunon faan zey? ( **Excuse me? What did you just call me?** )" she snarled as she pushed Sans behind her and took a single step towards the Papyrus.

 "uh oh." Sans commented from behind her.

 "oh this is gonna be good." Red remarked with a slight smirk on his face.

 "IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE IN THIS HOUSE, YOU WILL SPEAK ENGLISH." the Papyrus calmly responded to her aggression.

 "Los tol ful? Pruzah lorfonaar fos? ( **Is that so? Well guess what?** )" She stepped closer until she was just in front of him, craning her neck to look him dead in the eyes. "Zu'u fund waan Zu'u vust. Ful hi los bo wah lost wah sent voth nii. Uv hi vis vesey dii reym. ( **I would if I could. So you are just going to have to deal with it. Or you can kiss my ass.** )" The sound of someone biting their tongue before belting out laughing was heard through the room, signifying to her that it was Sans since only he could understand her. Additionally, she heard the sound of Red whispering under his breath. Something about her being dead.

 Her eyes never left the Papyrus's eyesockets however. She wasn't afraid of challenging this skeleton. She may have been afraid of Sans and Red at first, but that was only because of their face. They looked too much like him, and in her fear addled brain she had assumed that he had come for her. But if what Sans had said is true and he is still alive, he may be looking for her. Thinking back on it now, she realizes that it's stupid for her to be afraid. If she wants to understand why then she needs to stand up and confront the problem directly. And this dark version of Papyrus isn't going to stand in her way.

 Her thoughts were interrupted when the Papyrus started laughing under his breath. "I MUST COMMEND YOU FOR YOUR BRAVERY. NOT MANY PEOPLE WOULD DARE CHALLENGE THE GREAT AND TERRIFYING EDGE, YET YOU STOOD FIRM AND STILL DEFIED ME. YOU HAVE EARNED MY INTEREST, BUT NOT MY RESPECT. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" he asked, crossing his arms as he sized her up. She took a single step back as she put her hands on her hips and gently swished her tail back and forth- a small victory for her.

 "Lithos." she introduced.

 "AN EXOTIC NAME. QUITE INTERESTING. FROM WHICH UNDERGROUND DO YOU HAIL FROM?"

 That was a brain teaser. Even she didn't know the answer to that question. She opened her teeth for a second but snapped her jaw shut just as fast, looking everywhere but his eyes. How could she answer him? She shifted uncomfortably under the piercing gaze he was giving her as he was waiting for her answer. What could she say? She turned her gaze to Red, hoping he would answer only for him to look anywhere but her. When Red wouldn't come to her aid, she turned to look at Sans.

 "she doesn't know." Sans answered for her. She sighed, thankful for him coming to her rescue.

 "I ASKED HER. NOT YOU." Edge calmly spoke. He lifted her chin up so that she could only look into his eyelights. "WHERE DO YOU COME FROM? I WILL NOT ASK AGAIN."

 "Ol Sans saag, Zu'u dreh ni mindok. ( **As Sans said, I don't know.** )" she answered bluntly, shaking her head.

 "YOU ARE TESTING MY PATIENCE."

 "boss, she can't help it. the kid can't speak english." Red finally spoke to her aid, her shoulders still tense but her mind a bit more relaxed. Clearly she should not antagonize this skeleton if she wanted to get over her traumas and find out who she is. "you can ask sansy over there to translate for ya if ya really wanna know what she's sayin'."

 "Sansy?" she twitched, turning her head to look at Sans with a confused look. "Druv fund rok ofan hi grik fuhilpiin nebenfaan? ( **Why would he give you such a teasing nickname?** )"

 Sans simply shrugged, scratching at the back of his skull and looking anywhere but her eyes. "don't know. maybe it's to get under my skin."

 "Hi dreh ni orin lost karaak. ( **You don't even have skin.** )" she deadpanned.

 A large grin found its way on his teeth. "i know." She turned her head back towards Edge, looking up at him with big eyelights. He was intimidating, that was for sure. Compared to what she had experienced before escaping to the surface however, she doubted this monster could harm her worse than he did.

 "Nii los baar wah zey tol hi lost yal fahzon nau joriin voth buld do sahlom. Nuz Zu'u lorot tol hi vis hiif zey ko osos ven. ( **It is clear to me that you have narrowed views on people with a form of weakness. But I think that you can help me in some way.** )"

 "she said that she can tell you're narrow minded about people who are hurting, but that she thinks that you can help her." Sans supplied to Edge.

 "WHY WOULD I WANT TO HELP YOU? ASIDE FROM THAT, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT IS WISE TO ASK ME OF SUCH THINGS?" Edge snarled, crossing his arms and glaring down at her.

 "Dahik thraat hin balkus drensepaal ativ zey, hi lost honah do zin. Zu'u vis malbrii pogaas sahlon nii asamit voth hin silro sahlon. ( **Because despite your edgy aggression towards me, you have a sense of honor. I can pretty much smell it along with your soul's scent.** )"

 "she said that even though you're an edgy asshole that you're an honorable person. and that she can smell it on you." Sans stilled for a second, then raised one of his browbones. "what's he smell like exactly? you said that you can smell his soul scent. and what does honor smell like?"

 "Niidro buruk wah gelaar, nuz rok kodaav medaas sahlon wah tol do Papyrus fod dumed ko osos ven. Niidro stiilah, nuz til. Ol fah sahlon do zin Zu'u vis nunon pelaak nii ol grotiin su do suleyk. Med nahmul sahlon do kip tol prii suliiv hi. ( **It's hard to explain, but he bears a similar scent to that of Papyrus while also differing in some way. It's subtle, but there. As for the smell of honor I can only describe it as a heavy air of power. Like the overpowering smell of food that almost chokes you.** )" She shook her head, stepping a bit closer to Edge and sniffing him a bit more intently. "Medaas wah Papyrus, nuz voth sahlon do haamid hilk ko. Ahrk tol hes sahlon Zu'u vust zemqulek vok nol Papyrus staavek. ( **Definitely similar to Papyrus, but with a smell of cheese mixed in. And that sweet smell I could pick up from Papyrus is missing.** )"

 "so he doesn't smell sweet in any way. makes sense." Sans nodded, leaning against the wall behind him and looking directly at her. "seems like you can smell a person's upbringing."

 "Drun? ( **Upbringing?** )"

 "yeah. you said that papyrus smelled sweet. and red's scent was more sharp. it's because of the places we grew up in. paps and my underground was far more pleasant than red and edge's. so with that in mind, what do i smell like?"

 "Sufol-portav. Krolaak reyth. Od. ( **Ketchup. Holly trees. Snow.** )"

 "interesting smell. bet you smell condiments better than the others."

 "Geh. ( **Yes.** )" One of her ears flopped downward as she sniffed at Edge again and then looked towards Papyrus, sniffing at his direction. "Tol fund grozah gelaar sahlon do grutsur nau Red ahrk sahlon do daar maak nol Papyrus. Nuz druv dreh Edge sahlon ful medaas? Dreh rok yahnol rinis truk? ( **That would probably explain the scent of mustard on Red and the smell of those spaghetti spices from Papyrus. But why does Edge smell so similar? Does he cook the same thing?** )"

 "close enough, i suppose. he tends to cook lasagna. it's in the same category as spaghetti."

 "THAT IS AN INSULT TO MY CULINARY ARTS, SANS." Edge growled. Her ears perked up slightly, slapping a hand over her teeth and struggling not to laugh. She may not have known this red version of Papyrus for more than a few minutes, but she is aware that lasagna and spaghetti do fall within the pasta family. "THAT CREAMPUFF VERSION OF ME'S PASTA IS NOWHERE CLOSE TO THE CULINARY MASTERPIECE THAT IS MY LASAGNA." He turned his attention to Lithos, who was still struggling to keep her laughter in check. "IT APPEARS THAT THEY ALREADY FED YOU LUNCH, SO YOU SHALL EAT MY FAMOUS LASAGNA FOR DINNER TONIGHT. BE PREPARED."

 He flipped a portion of his scarf over his shoulder and adjourned up the steps and disappeared in one of the rooms. She turned to look at Red and Sans, one of her ears flat against her skull and the other raised straight up. "y'know kid, his statement of 'be prepared' isn't exactly not a warnin'. i mean, he's gotten better at cooking since comin' up to the surface but his food is still pretty lethal compared ta papyrus's." Red spoke, settling himself further in the couch and scratching his cheekbone. Her eyelights bugged out slightly, taking a hesitant step backwards. Catching on to her clear unease, he chuckled. "don't worry. it won't hurt ya. i mean, ya got a blessing that me and sans don't." She raised one of her browbones at him. "ya don't know what somethin' is supposed ta taste like."

 "Zu'u seik... hi los ni folaas. Nuz hi los ahk ni viilut. Zu'u mindok tol kip los ni lorfonaar wah kos ag nuz Zu'u vust ni ken nii kogaan wah maak. Ahrk nahl tir med Zu'u lost fah grik lingrah tiid, Zu'u rovaan lov restaurants nol tiid wah tiid ahrk mindok sahlon do reistig kip. ( **I mean... you aren't wrong. But you are also not right. I know that foods aren't supposed to be burnt but fortunately I could not taste it thanks to the spices. And living outside like I was for such a long time, I wandered near restaurants from time to time and know the smells of certain foods.** )" she explained, scratching her nose bone and tucking her tail against her leg.

 "she said that you're both right and wrong. she can tell how foods are supposed to be prepared from living on the streets so long and walking near restaurants." Sans translated, stuffing his hands into his hoodie pockets and shifting against the wall. "guess you can call that a blessing and a curse, huh kid?"

 "Zu'u lorfonaar. mindok tol Zu'u vust naak lost kusah yolmah qarah tol vek zey ko luft fod Zu'u rund tir. Wo mindok? Aalkos I'll zemqulek yahnol nunon wah orpoltor sahlon Zu'u lost zemqulek vok. Osos do niin lost peh genazaal. ( **I suppose. Not knowing that I could eat was an interesting bomb shell that hit me in the face when I found out. Who knows? Maybe I'll pick up cooking just to recapture the smells I had picked up. Some of them were quite pleasant.** )" She glanced upward, remembering the smells she had picked up during her outdoor living. She remembered walking by a store in the more remote part of town. Humans that passed by her called the shop an Amish store. She peeked inside the store one time and saw furniture that looked like it had been built by hand, donuts the size of her face, and candles that she could smell from outside and through the glass window.

 She had to commend humans, especially the ones she saw from time to time that spoke to her. She couldn't really hold conversations with them, but she appreciated their views. They weren't like most humans that she had overheard in the park- the ones that would point fingers at her and call a freak. She could understand their fear. A fear of the unknown. She had felt it quite a few times herself, but she never allowed herself to lash out on those who didn't deserve it. She has had a few times where she's had to restrain a rather aggressive human with her magic, but it was a more subtle magic that couldn't really be detected.

 Her thoughts were interrupted when Red had apparently gotten up from his spot on the couch and was now in front of her face. "watcha thinkin' about?" She cocked her head slightly. "yer thinkin' about somethin' but not somethin' that bothers ya. ya ain't pickin' at yer socket." She flinched slightly, not wanting to talk or engage in any topic regarding her picking. "must be somethin' rather nice. did ya know you were waggin' yer tail?"

 She glanced behind her and sure enough her tail was wagging happily. She supposed that she couldn't really blame herself. The smells she remembered were very nice and the humans she had the pleasure to encounter and were nice to her were very relaxing. She looked back up to Red, her tail still wagging. "Zu'u lost lorot do osos do mun veydar Zu'u lost bo yaav. Osos jul lost rinik dremsil. Vorey lost ni ful dremsil, nuz vosro nunon saag tol nel mal lu qeth ahst niist feet lost ganog wah wahl niin vuth. ( **I was just thinking about some of the human stores I had come across. Some humans were very nice. Others were not so nice, but let's just say that a quick little magic bone at their feet was enough to make them stop.** )"

 Sans snickered loudly, his finger wiping away an imaginary tear. "she said that she was remembering some human stores she had seen. that some were nice and others she had to trip." Red burst out into a loud belly laugh, startling her and causing her to jump slightly. "but lithos, if you're serious about wanting to try cooking i'm sure that we can find the time to teach you."

 "can't be worse than what boss makes. she goes by smells." Red commented, placing a hand on her shoulder and jostling her a bit. "i'm sure she could _sniff out_ any problems in her cookin'." Her ears immediately fell against her skull at the obvious pun, turning her eyelights to look at him instead of Sans and frowning slightly. "got faith in ya, kid."

 Faith. Something she hadn't had put on her. She was so used to being hurt and only being ordered to do something that led to more hurt. If these skeletons are willing to help her learn the ways of a normal life, she can give them that chance. It's not like she had anything left to lose. She may as well give it a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took me so long to upload this chapter. A lot of real-life stuff happened at one moment and my brain couldn't really string a sentence together.


	5. Clinical Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After several months of asylum with the skeletons, being taught to speak, cook, and live without stifling fear, she decides that it's time.

               “c’mon kid, keep it together.” Red spoke from the couch, staring at her as she gripped at the corner of her eyesocket.

               “Coffee. Sterile.” She spoke, shaking her head from side to side. “Smell too close.” In the months since she had been taken under their roof, her speech had refined to a broken form of English, yet understandable. The deep frown etched onto Stretch, another Papyrus she had met who lived in the house. His personality resembled that closely to Red and Sans, a strange observation at first, but something she slowly grew accustomed to. Cautiously approaching her, he stood in front of her before wrapping her in an embrace, her nose pressed into the orange hoodie. The smell of honey and cigarettes filled her senses, her mind slowly ceasing its race and her vision slowly returning to normal. Closing her eyesockets, she took a deep breath.

               “there you go.” Stretch muttered, patting the top of her skull and rubbing her ears slightly. “now, are you sure it was him you smelled?”

               “No coffee shops. No clinic. Him.” She replied, pinching the collar of her poncho and narrowing her eyes in the direction she had smelled the scent. “What nearby?”

               “just one of the many different undergrounds. but the one that was nearby didn’t have any monsters who were freed.” Sans answered. Her gaze was locked on to the direction her nose picked up the scent of coffee grounds and medical equipment. “that might be the one you came from.” She turned to glance over her shoulder at him, then went back to staring to the mountain overshadowing the town. “look lithos, i understand that you want to find the guy who hurt you, but maybe you shouldn’t.”

               “What mean?” She turned hastily to face him, her eyelights burning brightly. “He hurt. I fear. Pain great.” She clenched her fist to her stone, the pulsing light barely concealed by the thick material of her woolen poncho. “Must answer.”

               “i’m with her on this one.” Red added. “but… i think it’s time ya tell us what happened back then.”

               “we still know next to nothing about you aside from your name and that you were hurt by the one you call ‘him’. we can’t do much to help your case if you just shut us out.” Stretch supplied.

               “HI NI MINDORAAN! ( **YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND!** )” she screeched, a growl slipping through her teeth. “No know. Need answers. He has.” She moved to open the front door when a large, gloved hand gripped her wrist. “Edge. Let go.”

               “NO. YOU JUST SAID THAT YOU DO NOT KNOW WHY HE HURT YOU. IF YOU GO ALONE, HE WILL ONLY HURT YOU AGAIN.” Edge answered, pulling her away from the door. Thrashing almost violently to break his hold, she growled louder. “YOU WILL TELL US WHAT **YOU** KNOW. WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU.”

               “Where start?”

               Stilling in his hold, her eyelights guttered out and her tail fell flat and still from its normal sway.

               _“This is all for the best. Now, why don’t you stop acting so selfishly and cooperate?”_

               “He say… I selfish.” she began, Edge’s hold loosening but not quite releasing her. “I remember. Dark. Empty. Cold.” She shook her head. “Memories. Not mine.”

               “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” Blue asked from his position near the stairs, twiddling his fingers nervously. Blue is Stretch’s brother, a similar personality to that of Papyrus, yet he held a physical resemblance to that of Sans and Red.

               “Soul not mine.” She admitted, moving to free her arms from Edge’s grip so she could unclasp the button on her poncho.

               “let her go, boss. she’s tryin’ to show us somethin’.” Red ordered Edge, Edge letting go of her arms. Unbuttoning the poncho and folding it neatly, she placed the wool article of clothing down on the arm of the couch. Pulling the front of her shirt down slightly, she fully revealed the Power Gem embedded to her chest. “what is that thing?”

               “Power Gem. He say it hold soul.” The stone pulsed a few times before a heart appeared in front of her.

               “THAT SOUL… IT’S RIGHTSIDE UP.” Edge observed.

               “but it glows like that of a monster soul.” Stretch added.

               “so that’s why i couldn’t check you. that stone blocks all monsters from finding out who you are.” Sans mumbled in thought, crossing his arms and staring at the white heart that floated and glowed dimly.

               “Human died. They save shell. Fuse monster magic to shell.” She continued, the soul slowly melding back into the stone before pulsing a steady shimmer of blue. “I born. Put in tube. Stab soul with needle. Keep alive. He say ‘To make weapon, need mold.’ Human soul mold. Monster magic metal.”

               “so, that explains why you didn’t know anything about parents. you never had parents.”

               “No. Have parents. Don’t know.” The Papyri and Sanses gave her a confused look. “Soul made from 2 monsters. One weak. One strong. Weak soul not take. Strong soul strongest.”

               “wait.” Red blurted, his eyelights guttered out. “a boss soul and a regular monster soul was infused to the human shell. the boss monster soul magic gave ya the physical form of a skeleton monster. the weaker traits look like that of a wolf monster.”

               “the one constant in all of the undergrounds is that the only skeleton monsters are us. that means…” Stretch continued.

               “SHE’S ONE OF US?!” everyone shouted at once. Her ears flipped downward at the loud exclamation.

               “I THOUGHT THAT SHE LOOKED A LOT LIKE YOU, SANS.” Papyrus commented. Red and Sans stared at each other for a long moment before turning their gazes to her.

               “your soul…” Sans started.

               “is a sans?” Red continued.

               “Yes. He equal. He only want escape. He never care for my pain.” She shut her eyesockets, phantom memories of the pain she had felt burning through her bones. “Pain so great. Burning. Poking. Stabbing.” She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. “Need answers.”

               “and here i thought that i was an asshole… yer sans is far worse than i could ever be.” Red growled out. “how did ya escape?”

               “Lab explode. Tube break. He not show. I ran.” She went to reach for her poncho when Blue had beat her to it, throwing it over her shoulders and clasping the button. “I find cape. Feel safe wearing. Warm.” She then pointed out the window, a bright glimmer of light filtering through the blinds. “Light. I search.”

               “you saw sunlight and went after it?” Red asked for clarity.

               “No. Not sun.” She turned around to face Edge, patting her hand on his chest, where his soul rest. “Light.”

               “THE LIGHT OF SOULS DREW YOU TO FREEDOM?” Edge inquired, grabbing her hand and squeezing lightly.

               “Maybe. Not sure.” She stepped up to the window, placing a hand on the glass and feeling the warmth from the sun’s rays on the pane. “I search. Long time. Find Grillby’s.”

               “your search for this specific soul lead you to grillby’s.” Sans mused, looking up at her with a sympathetic look. “did you find that light you were looking for?”

               “I think, yes.” She turned to face Sans. “Face same. Soul not. Soul warm.” She turned to Red. “Face not. Soul closer. Warm.” She turned to Blue. “Face soft. Soul warm. Soul safe.” She shook her head. “Confused.”

               “i think i get where’s she’s going at.” Stretch broke the air around them. “the soul creation was from her underground’s sans, who is apparently a complete jackass and experimented on her. when the lab exploded and she escaped, her soul was drawn to that of the other sanses out on the surface.”

               “AN INTERESTING HYPOTHESIS, BUT HOW CAN WE VALIDATE THAT?” Edge crossed his arms, his gaze narrowed at Stretch.

               “we could take her to one of the monster doctors. i’m sure that one of them can figure it out.”    

               “Doctor.” Her eyelights blinked out at the word, a shivering feeling climbing up her spine. “Scared.”

               Stepping up to her and placing a careful hand on her shoulder, Blue smiled weakly with his big eyelights twinkling slightly. “I KNOW YOU’RE SCARED, MISS LITHOS. BUT I PROMISE THAT WE WON’T LET THAT MEAN MONSTER FIND YOU OR HURT YOU ANYMORE.”

               “ME, BLUE AND EDGE SHOULD HEAD OUT TO WHERE YOU LAST SMELLED THAT MONSTER. FIND OUT WHERE HE IS.” Papyrus added.

               “AS MUCH AS I HATE AGREEING WITH MY COUNTERPARTS, THIS WOULD BE A WISE ACTION. OUR LAZY BROTHERS SHOULD ACCOMPANY YOU TO A DOCTOR TO VERIFY IF THE SMOKING, LAZY VERSION OF ME IS RIGHT.” Edge begrudgingly agreed.

               “No.” she responded. “No want him to hurt. Not you.”

               “WE CAN’T LET HIM GET AWAY WITH THIS, LITHOS. AND WE ARE NOT LETTING YOU DO THIS ALONE.”

               “We go together. No let him have another.” She balled up her fists, a growl working its way up from the back of her throat. “No one feel what I feel.”

               “YOU UNDERESTIMATE ME?”

               “You to Him.” Browbones furrowed at her statement.

               “SANS? TRANSLATE?”

               “i think she was trying to say ‘you are underestimating him.’ from what she’s told us so far, i think she’s right.” Everyone turned to face Sans, his stance still relaxed. “despite being fused with the soul shell of a human and the magic of a boss monster, she stood no chance in defending herself. everything we know about human souls and boss monsters would have suggested that she would be powerful enough to break the barrier alone. but clearly whatever this guy knows blows all 3 of our undergrounds’ research out of the water.” He gestured a hand to her, her once rigid stance now more eased and her eyelights bright and clear. “she doesn’t want any of us to be alone or to go after him without her around.”

               “BUT WHY DO YOU INSIST UPON THIS? OUR NUMBERS FAR OUTMATCH HIS SINGULAR NUMBER.”

               “I only one who know how to hurt him.” she answered. “Years of pain give insight. I no want to hurt him. Yet.” She approached Sans, stopping just before him before extending her hand out to him. “I want truth. Need to know.”

               Taking her hand immediately and giving it a firm and reassuring squeeze, Sans nodded. “we’ll get the truth out of him, lithos. but we really do need to get you checked out. find out what we’re dealing with.”

               “You come with me?”

               “of course, kid. stretch, sans and i will be with ya at the doc’s. once we figure out what ya are exactly, boss, papyrus, and blue will go with ya ta find this dick.” Red answered, standing up from the couch and slinging an arm over her. “ya ain’t the only one who hates doctors.”

               A slight comfort. At least she wasn’t alone in her dislikes of doctors, though she doubts that they will ever fully understand her fear. Flipping the collar of her poncho up, she looked over her shoulder. “Come?”

               “we could just shortcut there-“ Sans began to suggest.

               “No! No jump.” She opened the front door, holding it open and waiting for the 3 relaxed skeletons to step out onto the front deck. “We no give scent. No jumps.”

               “what does that mean?” Red grimaced.

               “Jumps leave scent. Smell of rain. He smell.” She pat her chest. “Soul give smell when in void. Easy track.”

               “easy track…” Sans mumbled, her ears turning to his direction. “have you ever smelled another soul in the void?”

               “Yours.” She shook her head as she tried to recall a secondary scent she had once picked up when she traveled through the void. “Another. Hard to pick up.”

               “so, he’s still there…” Choosing to store that information for later, she and the others walked down the sidewalk, towards a nearby monster clinic.

               “Mommy, look! Glowy fluffy!” called out a child. Turning towards the source, she spotted a small human child pointing at her directly.

               “It’s not nice to point, sweetheart. I’m sorry about that. She is such a curious little thing.” Apologized the mother. Smiling warmly, she knelt to where she was eye level with the human child, tilting her head slightly towards the kid. The child cautiously reached her little hand out until she touched to top of her head, the phantom hair smooshing slightly under her hand.

               “Soft!” she squeaked, rubbing at the top of her head more fervently. The innocence of human children like the one currently petting her gave her hope. A perk to being part canine was that her hearing was more refined than that of the skeletons she lived with. She had heard time and again when Sans, Red, and Stretch were talking about a human from their underground. Something about ‘resets’ and how they killed monsters. She didn’t understand any of it, but she felt that it wasn’t her place to ask anyways. She couldn’t help but wag her tail when the girl reached her ears and started rubbing the fur there.

               “Okay, sweetie. Let’s let the kind monster get back to what they were doing.”

               “Aww.”

               Watching as the mother led her child away from them, she smiled. “that was pretty fuckin’ cute.” Red spoke behind her. “and that’s sayin’ somethin’ comin’ from me.”

               “the kid’s right. your fur is soft.” Stretch added. Living under their roof, the skeletons have found it to be a calming technique for her by rubbing behind her ears until she slumped against whoever was petting her and fell asleep. “but why’d you let her pet you?”

               “Kids are nice. Gave a smile to face when alone.” she answered, standing up and dusting off her knee. “Like seeing smiles on theirs.”

               “well that was pretty straightforward.” Sans chuckled. “c’mon, the clinic isn’t much further.” Continuing down the sidewalk, she glanced over to Sans. “something on your mind?”

               “You sacrifice much to help me. Gave magic to help speak. Roof over head.” She stared forward. “Why?”

               “sometimes you don’t need a reason.”

               “yer strong, but not everyone is strong enough to deal with their traumas alone. that’s what sans taught me and boss when our underground reps met.” Red muttered. Her eyelights shot over to him. “besides, i think i get why it ain’t so bad to help others. ya get a sense of accomplishment. like ya did somethin’ right.”

               “we’re here.” Stretch spoke, flicking the cigarette he was smoking to the pavement and stamping it out. Looking up at the building, a feeling of dread crawled up her spine. A small whine slipped through her teeth, taking a half step backward as the smell of medical equipment swarmed her nose. Placing a hand on her back and slightly pushing her forward, Stretch looked down to her. “don’t worry, lithos. the doctors here won’t hurt you.”

               “I know. Just scared.” She took a deep inhale, stepping through the doors of the clinic with shaky legs until she came up to the front desk. The receptionist looked up at her. “Ah.”

               “i got it, kid.” Sans stepped forward, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “we need to see one of the monster specialists for our friend here.”

               “Name?”

               “L-Lithos.” she stuttered, trembling slightly as a slight panic began to settle.

               “Underground?” She shook her head. “I need your Underground origin so we can assign you with an appropriate doctor.”

               “that’s… part of the reason we’re here. she’s not from any of the primary underground domains.”

               The receptionist’s eyes grew wide with surprise. “Really?” She stood up, writing something down on a notepad and ripping the sheet off. “I’ll bring this information to the doctors. We’ll figure something out. This is pretty big!” The receptionist ran out of the room, her eyes tracking the human with a mixture of confusion and judgment.

               “Is origin that important?” she asked the skeletons.

               “there are multiple doctors from different undergrounds. each one is specialized to different symptoms monsters can have. whether it’s something simple like a slight magic drain related to a small illness like a cold, or something more severe like falling down.” Stretch began explaining. “the doctor from my underground is specialized in the cases that are concerning, but not life threatening.”

               “my doc might be a crazy nutjob, but she knows her shit about keepin’ a monster from fallin’ down.” Red added.

               “and mine focuses more on the small things. less stress for her.” Sans spoke last.

               “Mine is ass.” The three skeletons started snickering under their breath, trying not to laugh at her lack of communication in the English language. “It true.”

               “we ain’t denyin’ that, kid. it’s just that yer broken english made that sound funnier than it needed to be.” Red said between breaths, trying to reel it in before he offended her.

               “I try.” She shrugged, smiling under her cape. Despite her wording being the butt of the joke, she didn’t mind the laughter. It was another of her comforts. When she first escaped the lab, all she ever heard was the sound of passing cars, people talking as they walked by, and the sound of nocturnal animals. She became accustomed to the sound of their laughter. She almost felt like she was actually living for the first time since her creation.

               The sound of 3 sets of footsteps drew her from her train of thought. When she looked towards the source, 2 yellow reptilian monsters and a blue fish-like monster were approaching their position. “This is the mystery monster?” asked one of the reptilian monsters, one wearing a pair of glasses with spirals on them and a red turtleneck. She stepped up to her until she was standing directly in front of her. “You don’t look very impressive to me.”

               Staring down at the doctor, she narrowed her eyesockets slightly. “Our receptionist said that she doesn’t hail from any of the origin Undergrounds. I can see that.” The fish monster analyzed.

               “C-Come with us to a room. We’ll run some t-tests and figure out your m-magic ranges as well as y-your physical health.” The other yellow lizard monster spoke, her regular glasses slipping off of her nose slightly. Gently grabbing her arm and trying to lead her somewhere, she hesitated and glanced over to the skeletons. “Is s-something wrong?”

               “she wants us to be with her. she’s afraid of doctors.” Sans spoke.

               “With all due respect, it’s best if only women are in the room during the tests we need to perform. We need to examine the physical condition of her soul.” The fish doctor declined.

               “Don’t care. Safe with them.” She spoke, startling the doctors with how timid yet forceful her voice was.

               “Well, we legally can’t deny her request if she says it’s okay, Undyne.” The lizard with the spiral glasses remarked while looking at the blue fish. “Follow us.”

               Following just behind the 3 doctors, she shivered slightly under her poncho. The thought of having anyone go near her soul other than the skeleton brothers was unnerving. Shaking her head to will the discomfort away, the doctors stopped in front of a wooden door. “Step inside, please.” Dr. Undyne requested. Stepping into the big room, she grabbed at the collar of her cape, tugging it upwards in a vain attempt to hide her face. “I can see that you’re uncomfortable. Allow us to introduce ourselves, it might help with your anxiety. I’m Undyne, former royal scientist of the Swap Underground.”

               “Alphys, T-Tale Underground. But people call me Alph.” The yellow lizard with the normal glasses introduced.

               “Alphys, Fell. I don’t need a cute nickname.” The other lizard with the spiral glasses greeted lastly. “Now, our receptionist said your name was Lithos and that you don’t know the name of your Underground.” She grabbed a clipboard, circling her and gently poking her side with the eraser of a pencil. “You seem anatomically similar to the skeletons. Bones on the outside, but under clothes your all fluff.”

               “I part wolf. Fluff natural.” She responded automatically, a collection of smiles drawing on the lazy skeletons’ faces. Alphys reached her tail, gently pinching a collection of fur between her fingers and humming.

               “I’ve always understood that skeleton monsters have a form of ectoplasmic body when summoned, so why do you have the tail, hair, and ears summoned? That drains your magic.”

               She shook her head.

               “It doesn’t drain your magic?” Undyne clarified. She nodded. “So, this is natural to you. Interesting.” She mused while picking up the braid that hung loosely down her back and feeling at the magic. “It feels soft, like natural fur. I’m not picking up on the crackle of magic upon touching it.”

               “What about your e-ears?” Kneeling down to where Alph could reach her ears, she bent her head forward. Gently kneading the phantasm ear between her claws, she hummed in thought. “Can you f-feel when I touch them?”

               “Yes.” She answered, her tail still.

               “she likes it when ya scratch just behind her ear.” Red added.

               “Let’s check the strength of her bones.” Alphys spoke, moving to roll up her sleeve when she flinched away and tugged her hand back. “What? You a cutter or something?”

               “No.” she answered swiftly, clutching her arm to her chest. She moved to tug the sleeve up on her own, tiny pockmarks littered her forearm.

               “Needle user then.”

               “No.”

               “I can see needle points all over your arm.”

               “she didn’t do that. a doctor from her underground did tests on her. these look like drill holes to me.” Stretch inspected his presence easing her anxiety slightly. The look of shock was plastered on Undyne and Alph’s faces, Alphys’s face remained neutral.

               “T-That’s…” Alph began, her claws trembling.

               “-horrible.” Undyne continued. “I can see why you brought her here. She’s probably traumatized by whatever happened.”

               “I could’ve told you that before he said anything. She’s practically radiating fear.” Alphys muttered. “Do you know who did this to you?” A nod. “Well?”

               She hesitated. She wanted to tell as few people as possible about Him. It was bad enough that Sans, Papyrus, Red, Edge, Stretch, and Blue knew about it and wanted to be actively involved in dealing with Him. Despite the good intentions the doctors were showing her, she couldn’t allow them to know anything about her situation any more than they needed to. She was already struggling as it was to be in their presence given her past near doctors.

               Shaking her head and clenching her teeth until they hurt, refusing to tell them about Him. “You don’t want to say. That’s fine. We won’t pressure you.” Undyne assured, stepping only slightly closer to her and extending her hand out to her. Shakily offering her arm over to Undyne, she exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding when she merely poked at her arm while avoiding the drill marks. “Your bone health is quite good. Can I see your teeth?” Rolling down the collar of the poncho, she opened her jaw, Undyne poking at her teeth with a gloved hand. “Your canines aren’t as sharp as they could be. A little on the small side.” She gently poked her tongue, her body rigid at the strange feeling and not wanting to bite the doctor on accident. Withdrawing her hand from her mouth, she nodded. “Everything checks out there.”

               “Good. Let’s take a look at that soul of yours.” Alphys approached. Flinching violently, her eyelights extinguished, she stared through her. “Well, that’s a reaction.”

               “D-did whoever hurt you do something to your s-soul?” Alph asked, noting that her reaction happened when it was mentioned. She nodded slowly. “We w-won’t hurt you. A-At least not intentionally.” Placing a hand to her Power Gem, she willed her soul to emerge from the stone shell. The bright light filtered under her cape, first a smokey blue, then to a pulsing white. Cradling the fragile heart, she slowly presented it to Alph.

               “It’s right-side up.” Undyne gawked.

               “We should probably report this.” Alphys spoke, pushing her spiraled glasses up her snout. “A monster with a human core? That’s just asking for trouble.”

               Her fingers twitching, her soul shot back into the stone shelter of the Power Gem, physically jarring her to where she staggered to right her stance, backing up into the skeletons. “whoa whoa whoa! we gotcha.” Red sputtered, holding her up and noticing how hard she was shaking.

               “i don’t think that’d be a good idea.” Sans interjected, moving to rub behind her ears in an effort to calm her down.

               “the person who did this to her may be looking for her. she’s trying to stay under the radar.” Stretch started.

               “if ya report this, he’s gonna find her.” Red continued.

               “How do you know if whoever did this to her **is** looking for her?” Alphys crossed her arms, narrowing her gaze at the skeletons corralled around her and trying to calm her down.

               “we can’t be too careful. just look at how shaken up she is.” Sans commented, watching her face to see if her eyelights had returned. Crouching down to where she could see him, he waved his hand in front of her face. “hey. c’mon, lithos. look in my eyes.” Eyelights still out, she looked into his white ones. “that’s it. you’re safe.”

               “Zu’u nis niin fun. ( **I can’t let them tell.** )” she whispered, her eyelights blinking back into existence and burning brightly with a pale blue rim around the cherry red pupils. “Zu’u fen ni niin tinvaak. ( **I will not let them talk.** )”

               “kid, don’t do somethin’ yer gonna regret.” Red attempted to restrain. She pushed away from him and approached the doctors.

               “I… have struggled… to keep my… existence… hidden.” She struggled to speak in coherent and clear sentences. “Unless you want… me to die… say nothing.”

               “This sounds serious.” Undyne noted. “How long have you been running from this person?”

               “Years.”

               “Years? Why haven’t you reported them to monster asylum integrations?”

               “I… didn’t know… he was still alive. I thought… he was dead.” She shut her eyes for a moment, allowing her anger and hatred of Him to wash over her. The threat of having her identity revealed and Him finding her was enough for her to draw the line. “I need answers. I will stop at NOTHING until I get them.” She clenched her fist, the leather of her brown gloves creaking under the force. “No government will stop him or help me.” She turned her back to the doctors. “Unless you have something critical to report on my physical or magical states, don’t stop me from leaving.” Glancing over her shoulder and her eyelights glinting dangerously, she regarded them a final time. “Forget what you saw.”

               Stepping out of the room and into the main lobby, she stood and waited near the entrance for the skeletons to leave the room she was previously in. When she sighted the hoodie trio, she turned and walked out the doors, sniffing the air for any signs of Him. She stopped herself when a familiar orange hoodie suddenly appeared in front of her face. Skipping backwards, she snarled. “What?”

               “you didn’t notice? you were speaking concise and clear sentences back there. what set you off?” Stretch asked, Sans and Red walking out from the clinic and closing behind her. “was it the mention of the monster asylum?”

               “If they could have helped me, do you really think I would be running like I am?!” she shrieked, magic crackling around her. “No. I’m done. I’m tired of being afraid!” She shouldered Stretch aside, stomping down the sidewalk, sniffing at the air. “He’s close. I can smell him over the smell of that clinic.”

               A force wound itself around her body, stopping her from moving any further. “don’t be stupid. yer only gonna get yerself hurt like this.” Red growled out, his right eye ablaze with magic and hand outlined in a red aura. “now, why don’t ya calm down and we’ll vent out yer frustrations in a healthy way.”

               “Like what?” she blinked, her ears twitching slightly.

               “how about we head to grillby’s? some good food might do the trick.” Sans suggested.

               “You mean… where we first met.” She stared off in the distance, the smell of coffee and medical tools faint on the breeze. Shaking her head, she turned in the opposite direction of the scent, brushing past the skeletons. “I need to be alone.”

               She needed to get away from them before she hurt them by accident. She needed to get to her little sanctuary in the woods, somewhere she could think without the presence of others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I greatly apologize for the long delay between chapters. Life gets in the way sometimes.


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